The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1887-11-09
Indignant Protests.

CHICAGO, November DAY after day
long lists of citizens who have hitherto
been emphatic IN their demand for the 10
Fiction OF the extreme penalty of the law
on the condemned anarchists appear az
tached to petitions for commutatio1.
Among these, the names of eminent mem-
bers of the bar and bench attract the M Sst
attention. A reporter requested several
Of the legal lights to give their reasons for
signing the petitions.
w. @. Goudy said Those men are
guilty. There is no doubt of that. They
are guilty OF murder, but il must be re-
membered that this is not case of ordin-
airy physica assassination. The question
is whether they should be punished to
the full extent of the law. Thus is the first
time thst question has come up since the
Jury decided il. Judge Gary might have
passed upon it in denying a new trial. but
did not. The Supreme Court of the State
SIMPLY declared Ibat there was no legal
errors in ire record of that trial, and the
Supreme Court OF the United States de.
clsred that there was no legal ground
upon which they could take up and re-
view the trial. Ii comes now for the Gov
ernor to decide whether or not the extreme
penalty should be melted out to these men.
II may be urged in their favor that they
bad often before talked more violently
than they did at the Hay Market meeting.
The Mayor of the city, its highest officer,
was appealed to, TO suppress their talk and
stop their paper, but he refused, insisting
that they had right TO talk and write
that way. This gave them kind OF Ii
cense for the talk the night of murder. II
is a question of public policy, aud ] am
certain that the execution of these men is
not the way TO suppress Anarchistic
ideas or Socialisiic tendencies among the
masses. My idea is that they should be
sent 10 Joliet for life, put INTO stripes. and
treated simply as common felons. These
men are honest in their declaration that
they would rather be hung than sent to
prison for life. The point is that they will
be robbed OF all the romance, the senti-
mentality the exsltation of martyrdom."
Ex-senator TrumbRll said: 81 Rm not
taxing sn active part in this matter, but
/ signed the petition because l thought ii
was best. / was not altogether satisfied
with the manner in which the trial of the
AnaTc bisis was. conducted. IL took place
at time Of great public excitement,
VIXEN IL was about impossible that they
should have fair and impartial trial. A
terrible crime had been committed, which
was contributed to by Anarchists, and, in
some respects the trial had the appearance
OF en- organization known as Anarchists
rather than of persons indicted for the
murder of began. Several of the con-
demned were not at the meeting where the
bomb was thrown, and none of them, as
understand, were directly connected with
lis throwing. The condemned claim, how
ever enormously, TO be the advocates Of S
principle, and 10 execute them would, in
my judgment, be bad policy. 1t will be
claimed for them that they were executed
as martyrs to cause, while, If put in
prison, they will soon be forgotten"
Judge Moran said his reasons for signing
the petition were similar to those Of ex-
Senator Trumbull. 1T Is now simply a
question of public policy" he said,
whether or not those men should be
hanged. Mere pity for the men cuts no
fgure. 1t Is not customary In this co1n-
| try to hang fellow for talking. The sem
timent is TO let him talk, that the people
will be all right anyhow. Besides, will it
| pay TO allow those men TO become mar
| tyrs? Among the laboring and middle
classes viii ID not give rise to the belief, un-
| founded though 1t be, that man Of wealth